Artspace: The Art Startup

Founded in 2011, what the ecommerce startup Artspace deals with is getting art sold to the masses out there at convenient prices. The startup has in fact, recently managed to add a $8.5 million to its capital from a recent round of funding, This was, in fact, the startup’s Series B round. The startup had earlier completed its round in Series A after having arrived at an amount of $3.7 million.

“There is significant opportunity in the art technology sector at the moment and of all the platforms that we investigated, Artspace.com has the most compelling business model,” said Warren Lee, partner at Canaan and board member at Artspace. “We are already seeing existing collectors embrace the platform and we believe the next generation of art collectors will expect to be able to buy online.” as reported by Techcrunch.com.

The amount that it has landed at is in fact one of the largest ever made by a startup in the art sector. Artspace now plans to use this recent amount gained in getting its technology platform expanded. Apart from this, the startup also has plans of getting its service expanded into various other global markets with the increase of its partners in marketing and supply.

The startup’s goal is to get artists and their galleries connected with potential buyers out there and to encourage the masses to get them immersed into the world of art. It also plans to get the art introduced to the web. However, what differentiates this startup from other similar startups out there is its focus on ecommerce. Buyers can use this site in order to get anything that they want bought online. Price points are available with various different options.

The startup’s cofounders are Catherine Levine and Chris Vroom. Levine is an innovator in the digital media having previously managed the digitals of the New York Times and Daily Candy. With a background in art history at Madrid, it was Levine’s passion for art that led her towards building this startup.

Vroom, on the other hand, was also the founder of a nonprofit called Artadia that worked towards the discovery of new artists in hidden locales.

"The art market is a $50 billion business with zero transparency where insider trading is allowed," says Vroom, "I felt like we could break down some of the anti-competitive barriers. Terrific art is going on in every community in America and around the world.” as reported by Forbes.com.

“Paying that huge sum without seeing the art can be scary for some people, but we’ve seen in the last ten years that there is an explosion of sales being made by simply sending jpgs,” said Catherine Levene. “We’re building a more efficient platform from an existing practice, facilitating engagement for the gallery directly to the collector.”, as reported by Techcrunch.com.

"Cultural institutions, galleries and artists face the challenge of reaching new audiences," says Vroom, "And for those collecting art, there is so much information out there but very few filters. We want to help people learn about art and collect it, and bring that audience to the institutions and galleries.", as reported by the business insider.

"There are 11,000,000 mass affluent households in the US buying art every year," says Vroom. "They're currently buying art online, or from retail stores like Home Depot and Crate and Barrel. Artspace will show people amazing art they never knew about or thought they could afford.” as reported by the business insider.

The startup’s recent round in funding had also included various other investors like Maria Baibakova, David Rosenblatt, Mike Yavonditte, Robert Pittman, Tom Stemberg, and Pamela and Richard Kramlich.